CHAPTER 208: 207: ON THE TOPIC (10TH EXTRA CHAPTER FOR ZHU YUANYUANYU’S ADDITIONAL UPDATE)

Xiang Weilai slapped the paper in his hand onto the table, "Right answers."

Ye Ling couldn’t help but want to laugh seeing Xiang Weilai’s lazy demeanor and the way he slapped the paper onto the table. In her past life’s memories, Xiang Weilai always stood by with a faint smile, as if he was naturally noble, and never let mundane things touch him—his nobility was such that no one ever imagined such things would involve him.

"Well, I also want to see how my answers compare." Ye Ling sat down, grabbed the paper Xiang Weilai had brought over, and started checking it against the answers she had copied down—first the multiple-choice, then the big questions.

Those who hadn’t left the exam hall yet gathered around, regretting not copying the answers down, thinking that this way, at least they would have some idea of where they stand. Liu Zhiyuan, who had been waiting at the door, came back and stood behind Xiang Weilai, trying to compare the answers on the paper with his memory, but couldn’t quite match them, so he turned away.

Zhao Guodong and the others had come out earlier and, unable to wait for Ye Ling, stood at the door. Seeing Ye Ling surrounded, they came in as well. Xiang Weilai was sitting opposite Ye Ling, who was looking at two sheets of paper, occasionally marking on them. Before they could understand what was happening, Ye Ling was already done.

She pushed one of the sheets towards Xiang Weilai, "A few answers are different."

Ye Ling thought that in her past life, Xiang Weilai ranked top in the province, so even if she was a few questions off from him, her math should be fine this time. Feeling relieved, she inadvertently smiled.

These days, Ye Ling studied hard and grew taller, though she was still thin, but became much paler. Even though she had single eyelids, unlike others who braided their hair, she had a ponytail, which made her look energetic.

Now, her smile made people suddenly notice her appearance. Not exceptionally glamorous, nor a beauty, but very refreshing, like a sky after the rain—high and blue, making people feel clear-minded.

Ye Ling did not know how a genuine smile felt to others but waved to them when she saw Zhao Guodong, then stood up, "If possible and convenient, could you copy down the answers each time, so we can compare them?"

"Do you trust me to do well on the exams that much?" Xiang Weilai looked at Ye Ling with a faint smile.

Ye Ling was exposed in her thoughts and couldn’t explain, showing a touch of shyness and finding a reason, albeit a lame one, "You are in high school, and we haven’t yet—it is natural for you to do better in exams than us."

Xiang Weilai felt Ye Ling wasn’t being honest, but couldn’t find a reason for Ye Ling’s trust. Logically, his grades ranked around the top twenty in the year group, not particularly good given the many students attending college entrance exams in the province—it’s not easy to score well.

"Okay." Xiang Weilai responded simply.

Ye Ling smiled and walked away with her things. Xiang Weilai turned to look at Ye Ling and Zhao Guodong’s backs, then turned to Liu Zhiyuan and laughed, "How come someone like Zhao Guodong can get along so well with a girl?"

"Are you saying Ye Ling is special?" Everyone scattered early to prepare for the afternoon’s literature exam. Besides Liu Zhiyuan and the courtyard group, no one else was in the room, "During the exam you saw, didn’t you? When the teacher tried to check her calculations, she said things that embarrassed the teacher. Do you think that makes her special?"

Xiang Weilai felt that regarding Ye Ling, he and Liu Zhiyuan could never be on the same page. After all, once someone assigns a role to another person from the heart, they only see that person’s flaws, having already subconsciously masked the other’s strengths.

"Let’s go." Xiang Weilai didn’t say much, but Liu Zhiyuan disagreed.

He pulled the paper in Xiang Weilai’s hand, looked at the answers on it, and recalled his own, "Speaking of which, our answers differ more, whereas yours and Ye Ling’s differ less."

"So she found the wrong person to compare answers with." Xiang Weilai took the paper back, "Forget it, it’s over anyway; no point in comparing now."

He crumpled the paper into a ball but didn’t throw it out, slipping it into his pocket instead.

Sun Mingjie noticed this, nudged Dong Haoyu beside him, nodded towards Xiang Weilai for him to look. Dong Haoyu, walking behind, naturally saw this too, but said nothing despite being nudged by Sun Mingjie. Sun Mingjie felt agitated and quickly strode forward.

Outside, Ye Ling and her group exited the school and walked towards the ramen shop. Ye Ling compared the three sets of answers with hers along the way. Except for Wang Ping having more discrepancies, Zhao Guodong and hers had fewer differences, and Ye Ling copied down the differing answers between Xiang Weilai and hers too. She found Zhang Linong had similar differences as Xiang Weilai, feeling Zhang Linong must have done better.

In her past life, she didn’t interact much with the courtyard group, only knew Zhao Guodong and the others were in the military, hence unaware of their academic performances. Now it seemed Zhang Linong had a natural talent for studying.

Upon reaching the ramen shop and seeing the anticipation on Zhao Guodong’s face, Ye Ling smiled, "Rest assured, you all did well. Zhang Linong probably did better than I did; a few answers I couldn’t verify, but his matched Xiang Weilai’s. Xiang Weilai studied an extra year compared to us, so he couldn’t be wrong."

"Don’t overestimate him; he isn’t that good at studying." Zhao Guodong didn’t like others praising people, especially those from the artillery regiment.

"People should be humble," Ye Ling, feeling good, didn’t argue, "We have the literature exam in the afternoon; it requires patience and careful reading. Eat ramen now but don’t add chili; an upset stomach might affect the exam. Once it’s over, I’ll treat you, and you can add as much chili as you like."

"No need to treat me, I still have money." Zhao Guodong patted his pocket; it’s from the last twenty bucks he had.

This semester, based on Zhao Guodong’s previous habits, he’d spend lavishly, but knowing the importance of money after realizing he had none, he curbed this habit, not spending a dime since treating them last time.

"Afraid you won’t find a place to spend? Let’s eat." Ye Ling looked at him and smiled.

The math hurdle was over—it was the most important one, finally allowing Ye Ling to relax. With holidays around, the ramen shop was crowded with peers from the same grade. Seeing Ye Ling and the others so happy, they knew they did well in exams, and couldn’t help but feel envious, learning together yet stuck for another year while others were graduating. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian.com; your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)